Short answers to the questions people ask before getting in touch, taken from the pages that cover each one in full.
The site
About this site
Who is behind North Jersey Retirement?
Matthew Hunkele, a partner and co-founder of Rosefinch Investment Advisors, Inc., writes and publishes it. North Jersey Retirement is the educational site of a working advisory practice, and the practice would like some of its readers to become clients. His wife is a school psychologist in a North Jersey public school district and a member of the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund, so the pension decisions readers bring to him are ones his own family faces too. His background and credentials are on the About page.
Is anything on this site financial advice?
No. Nothing published here is investment, tax, or legal advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Every page is general and does not account for your circumstances. Rules differ by employer, plan, and tier, so verify anything you read here against your own plan documents and current law before acting.
Is North Jersey Retirement part of PERS, TPAF, or of my employer?
No. North Jersey Retirement is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, retirement system, plan sponsor, or employer named on this site, including the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits, the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund, and the United States Office of Personnel Management. Their names are used only to identify the rules being described.
Where does your information come from?
Primary sources: plan documents, retirement system publications, statutes, and official guidance, not other advisory websites. Pages cite those sources, in the text or in a source list at the foot. Where sources conflict or a fact could not be verified, the page says so rather than filling the gap with something plausible.
Do the calculators tell me what I should do?
No. The calculators apply published rules to figures you enter. They do not project investment returns and they do not produce a recommendation. Each names its sources and the date its figures were last checked, and where a rule is unsettled, the calculator says so rather than picking an answer.
Why are there no projections, sample portfolios, or testimonials on this site?
Projections are hypothetical performance under the SEC’s marketing rule for investment advisers, which an adviser may present only where they are relevant to the specific person receiving them. A public web page cannot meet that test, so projections happen with you, about your situation. The site also publishes no performance figures, testimonials, endorsements, or ratings. How we work explains more.
Is there a site like this for New York and Long Island?
Yes. LI Retirement covers the New York systems in the same way this site covers the New Jersey ones. It is written and published by Zachary Zanghi, Senior Partner and co-founder of Rosefinch Investment Advisors, Inc., the same firm behind this site, and it carries the same disclosures where they apply, localized for its own state and its own adviser. If your pension or your employer is in New York, start there.
Getting started
Getting in touch
What happens on the first call?
It lasts twenty to thirty minutes, by phone or video, and most of it is questions: where you work or worked, which plan or tier you are in, and what is on your mind. It ends one of three ways: something worth doing together, something better handled by someone else (and we say who), or nothing that needs attention right now.
Do I need to gather documents before we talk?
No. You do not need documents for the first call, and you do not need to arrive knowing what you want. If it goes further, the usual list is your plan document or summary plan description, your latest pension estimate, your Social Security statement, benefit summaries, recent account statements, and last year’s tax return.
Can we meet in person?
Yes, if the work goes further. The first conversation is by phone or video. The longer working session after it is in person in North Jersey or by video, whichever you prefer.
Who will read my message?
Matthew Hunkele or his colleagues at Rosefinch Investment Advisors read messages and reply, usually the same day. You can use the contact form or write to njretirement@rosefinch.us. Please do not send account numbers, Social Security numbers, or other sensitive personal information by email or through a form.
Should I use Start Here or the contact page?
Start Here asks two questions, with no name and no email, and points you to what is relevant. It takes about two minutes and commits you to nothing. If you already know what you want to ask, the contact page is the shorter route.
How do people find you?
Our practice has been built on introductions from existing clients. The rest find this site.
Fees
Cost and compensation
Does any of this cost money?
No. The site and the guides are at no charge. The first conversation is at no charge, and there is no obligation to go further.
How are you paid if I become a client?
Through an ongoing advisory fee, typically a percentage of the assets we manage on your behalf. Planning is included in that fee rather than billed separately. The fee schedule and the other required disclosures are provided to you in writing before any client relationship is established.
Is there an account minimum?
Not a number. Complexity rather than size decides whether this is worth your time and ours: a pension tier decision, a rollover with company stock inside it, a benefit election with a deadline attached. Ask, and we will tell you where you stand.
Do you also handle insurance?
Yes, where a real gap exists, and it is sized after the rest of the picture is known. That work is done through Rosefinch Risk Management, LLC and individually licensed agents. If you choose to buy a policy, the issuing carrier pays a commission through Rosefinch Risk Management, LLC. That creates a conflict of interest, which is set out on the About page.
Do you prepare tax returns or legal documents?
No. We do not prepare tax returns and we do not draft documents. We work alongside your attorney and accountant rather than around them.
Which firm provides the advisory services?
Investment advisory services are offered in the United States through Beacon Global Advisor Network, LLC, a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC No. 801-110724; CRD No. 288833). Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training or that the SEC has approved or endorsed any adviser or advisory services. Rosefinch Investment Advisors, Inc. operates as a marketing and operational entity. Insurance products and services are offered through Rosefinch Risk Management, LLC and individually licensed agents.
Do you pay for referrals?
No. Nobody is paid for introducing you to us, and we are not paid for introducing you to anyone else. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed in writing before it affects you.
Privacy
Your information
If I request a guide, will someone call me?
No. Requesting a guide is not consent to be called, and we will not call or text you unless you have ticked the box saying we may. If you do, calls and texts are made between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time, and you can withdraw consent by replying STOP or by telling us during a call.
Do you sell my information?
No. We share it only with service providers who run the site and our email and analytics systems, on our instructions; with a licensed professional you have asked to be introduced to; and where the law requires it. The Privacy Policy has the details.
Does sending a message make me a client?
No. An advisory relationship begins only under a separate written agreement. Reading this site, requesting a guide, using a calculator, or sending a message does not create one.
This page is general information and does not account for your circumstances. See our full disclosures.
Ask about your own situation.
If your question is not answered here, a short conversation is the quickest way to an answer. It is at no charge, and there is no obligation.
Book your Retirement ReviewNot ready to book? Answer a few questions about your situation, or send a message.
Booking is handled through Rosefinch Investment Advisors. North Jersey Retirement is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, retirement system, plan sponsor, or employer named on this site.